A wound healing model with sonographic monitoring

The methods used hitherto for quantification of skin repair processes only allow an examiner a two-dimensional assessment of superficial wound healing. With the recent advent of high frequency B-scan ultrasonography in dermatology it has become possible to follow the course of healing and evaluate the healing processes in deeper layers of the skin. In this investigation 80 patients received cryosurgery for treatment of basal cell carcinomas on the face or neck region. As the size of cryosurgical defects can be precisely controlled they are potentially useful as standardized wound healing models. The course of wound healing after cryosurgery using a digital ultrasound scanner (DUB 20, Taberna pro medicum, Lüneburg, Germany) was monitored. The usable depth of penetration of the echo signal is approximately 7 mm. The lateral resolution is approximately 200 microns, the axial resolution approximately 80 microns. The cryolesion and the repair processes were examined ultrasonographically and clinically over a period of at least 3 weeks or until the wound had completely healed. The depth of invasion and lateral extent of the basal cell carcinoma as well as the size of the induced cryolesion can be determined by ultrasound. The exudative phase after cryosurgery, with developing oedema and necrosis, can be quantified on the basis of the reduced reflectivity in the corium. The repair processes taking place in the region of necrosis can be visualized in the ultrasound scan. The ultrasonically monitored wound healing model which we have demonstrated is particularly suitable for investigating the efficacy of drugs which promote healing.